ccoyle

It's a good point for any new modeler to remember that kit instructions are only one person's suggested sequence for assembling the model, and there's no written law against deviating from the sequence if one thinks he has a better way. In fact, many experienced builders make little use of instructions and are chiefly concerned that the kit come with good and detailed plans. Cheers!

Anna, Something for you to think about on future models -- in your fifth photo down, the planks make a hard bend where they meet a bulkhead near the bow. The planks should follow the curve of the hull, which you can see in the shape of the false deck. This requires that the bulkhead formers be beveled, which means that they are filed or sanded in a manner that allows the planks to make the desired curve without kinking. You can see how this is done in some of the other build logs. Cheers!

Jeff, it sounds like you have a good plan of action in place already. Just keep thinking ahead about whether any sub-assemblies will be first of all accessible as you add additional bits, and secondly will they be easily knocked off as you continue working. And with a model the size of Victory, you will have a lot of such thinking and planning to do!

Sorry for your loss. The best way to deal with your husband's equipment is to donate it to a local modeling club. They can auction the items to raise funds for the group. If you would like to preserve some anonymity, you can contact any of the staff here by private message, let us know your whereabouts, and we can put you in touch with a club in your area. Condolences, Chris

I'm pretty certain that I would go insane if I attempted this kind of work, which partly explains why I have never attempted anything like it!

I believe you are correct on items #2 and #3. The first item, though, are simply eyebolts. These can be used for a number of purposes but are generally used as anchoring points for blocks or for securing rigging. If you run out of them, don't worry, as additional ones can easily and inexpensively be made from blackened annealed wire.

Congratulations! A lovely model -- the glaze-like finish on the lower hull is amazing. Cheers!

The Nautical General Discussion area (down towards the bottom of the topics list) would be a good spot.

And it shows! Your CNC work is definitely an improvement on the kit materials.

Welcome! I can't speak to the availability of the plans that you are looking for, but early torpedo boats are a fairly common subject in card modeling. In particular, Orel, a Ukrainian publisher, have put out quite a number. You can browse their catalog here.

Fabulous job!

Congratulations on your finished model!

Welcome, Bill. OcCre make a kit of Dos Amigos. https://www.occre.com/model-ship/dos-amigos.html?___store=en&___from_store=en

Okay, what I am about to tell you, you may not want to hear, but trust me that I'm telling you this so that you will have long-term success in this hobby. You are off to a bad start. You already have a couple of strikes against you because you are starting out on both a really difficult model to build and building it in a scale that is a real booger for beginners. To get an idea of what you are up against, please click on this link and read our cautionary tale for beginners. Next -- put this model aside, for now at least. It is an excellent example of a "hobby killer." What you need is a suitable beginner's kit that will give you a reasonable chance of success. For some ideas on beginner's kits, have a look at this topic. Essentially, you should start off with less of everything: less planking, less rigging, less guns, etc. Everything except scale -- you want more of that, i.e. larger scale. I suggest something on the order of 1/64 scale or larger. Third: read. An excellent book for beginners (I cut my modeling teeth on it) is Frank Mastini's Ship Modeling Simplified. You can probably get a copy through your local library. Finally, browse through the kit build logs and look for two things. First, look for build log titles that include verbiage like "first build." These are modelers who are in the same figurative boat as you. Second, from those logs, have a look at the ones that say "FINISHED" in the title. Those are logs for models that beginners have successfully completed. Most of them will be for fairly simple kits, but the important thing is that they finished. Again, I'm saying this because I have been in this hobby for 20 years and have witnessed many beginning modelers embark on their modeling adventure with a kit that is over their head. They usually get as far as planking the hull and then give up. You don't have to be one of them, but starting out with a simpler kit and a better idea of how to get started will go a long way towards making that happen. Kind regards,

@mtaylor: Mark, so far I think this is a great kit. I do think that the MK folks could benefit from having a native English-speaker go over their translated instructions to iron out the occasionally confusing bits, but the plans and diagrams help alleviate that problem. I'm currently working on creating some impressionistic bolt heads, and the wire supplied for the job is the wrong gauge to fit the holes in the metal work, but I've really had very few problems to this point. @Katsumoto: I'm using paint -- cheap acrylic paint, in fact, but I like the results. Cheers!

Small update. Decided to add a bit of color (technically, black = absence of color -- oh, well). Gave the hull a final sanding and going over with fine steel wool. Added the rear deck.

Great to see an update! I had been wondering where you'd gone off to.

I had this same problem with some of the plywood supplied in the upgrade kit for my Victory Models (subsidiary of Amati) HMS Fly, and Amati is not known for poor materials. I can see where improperly glued-up plywood would be difficult for the quality control people to spot, but there's little excuse for bad strip wood. Warping, on the other hand, can occur anywhere post-production if the kit is not stored properly -- not pinning that on you, just saying it could have happened anywhere along the line of distribution.

Don't worry about the deadeyes being loose, because the shrouds will hold them in place once you attach them. What you will need to be careful about, though, is that your wire strop is sufficiently long enough to form the little hooks at either end; you'll need those to keep the strops firmly attached to their chainplates.

Wow, look who's back! Just in time for Christmas! Great to see back at work on this project. Cheers!

Oops! Yes, you are correct on that point.

Oliver, I would think that if you are successful with your Santa Maria build, then Terror should be something you could expect to pull off. Perhaps a bit challenging here and there, but it wouldn't be much fun otherwise, would it?

Certainly, and I know that there are a lot of people who will agree with you on that point. On the other hand, I have made about 20 or so purchases (not a lot, I know) on eBay and have never had any trouble. My intention in publishing this post was not to discuss the perils of online auctions, which are real and not to be taken lightly, but rather to show what can be had for those who feel comfortable using the medium. Cheers!

PART 2: How to Spot a Good Deal Okay, despite what some people believe, there are still good deals to be had on eBay, if you know what to look for. In Part 2, we'll look at some potentially good deals. CAVEAT: As some comments have pointed out in this thread, there are inherent dangers in shopping at online auction sites. I should have written in my lead-off post that I was writing under the assumption that you, dear reader, already knew about those dangers. But if you didn't, now you do. Back to the shopping! Potential Good Deal #1 Here's a potentially great deal, especially for a new modeler. There's a number of reasons why this could be a great deal. First, it's Artesania Latina's Swift pilot boat. It's not a particularly sexy model, but it is a great beginner's model, and there are a bazillion build logs of finished examples here at MSW. It's a model the average beginner has a high probability of completing. Second, the seller posted a lot of photos showing that the kit contents are all there and in good shape, plus a beginner's book is included. Third, the starting bid is only $20. Granted, shipping is also $20, but still -- $40 all together is a good deal. The point worth emphasizing with this example is that pretty much any beginner's model is going to set you back at least $50 if you were to buy it from a dealer, so getting it for less than that is good. If a bidding war were to develop over this kit, and the price were to go over $50, I'd probably let it go, because the Swift is one of the most common models sold on eBay, and sooner or later another deeply discounted example will turn up (in fact, I found several better deals on this same model while researching for this post). Potential Good Deal #2 This next potential good deal is a candidate for essentially two reasons. First, it's a Midwest Products kit. Midwest is now out of business, but their kits still turn up frequently on eBay, and Midwest made the closest thing to fool-proof model kits as one could wish for. The first two wooden models I ever built were from Midwest, and there are literally dozens of examples in our build logs and galleries. Second, the starting bid on this kit is cheap, cheap, cheap. Assuming that the seller doesn't ream you on the calculated shipping charge, this could be a great bargain that will provide any newbie with valuable experience in working with wood. Midwest kits are good examples of kits whose prices are low simply because there are a lot of them still in circulation. They're good kits regardless of the low price. Remember my warning from Part 1: the fact that a kit is claimed to be "rare" doesn't mean that the kit is inherently valuable. Potential Good Deal #3 This next example is potentially a steal for a modeler who is feeling a little more ambitious and has a hankering for riverboats. Amati is a quality kit manufacturer, and the seller has set the starting bid at $150, with free shipping. Here's where doing the homework pays off: the MSRP on this kit is $439, so a buyer could potentially acquire this kit for up to 66% off the MSRP. That, my friends, is a deep discount. Whereas most sellers seem inclined to set their starting bids too high, occasionally a seller, like this one, will set the starting bid quite low. Knowing what the kit retails for is the key to spotting the deal. Potential Deal #4 -- or Not (Toss-Up) Whether this next deal is a good deal or not depends on how badly you want to save $5.00. This example happens to be from an eBay store. No bidding is necessary -- you can simply snap this kit up for $168 plus $29 shipping, for a total of $197. Your model will be shipped from Russia, which means it ain't gonna arrive tomorrow. However, you can order the same kit from Model Expo using their current 25% off promo (as of 22 Dec 2018) and free shipping -- for $202. It's pretty much a toss-up. I mainly included this example because it shows that there are legitimate sellers on eBay who are not trying to bilk you. They're selling their wares at prices that are competitive with more familiar retailers. So that's basically it. If you do your homework, know what to expect to pay in advance (and don't allow yourself to over-bid), and check listings over thoroughly, you can find some good deals on eBay. I found others besides the ones shown here, but they were essentially further examples of the scenarios already illustrated. Have fun shopping!

To drive this particular point home, I received an email from Model Expo this morning featuring a new promotion -- 25% off any order with no minimum. That makes the $419.99 Constitution kit now only $314.99, plus free shipping. In this instance, it really pays to have an idea beforehand of what you should reasonably expect to pay.